Broomsticks And Owls

by **Mistress Siana** » Wednesday 22 December 2004 3:04:38am

I think JKR's idea of the anagram TOM MARVOLO RIDDLE - I AM LORD VOLDEMORT was bloody brilliant, but it works only in English. As some guys here are, like me, not from an english speaking country, I'm interested in how the different translators solved this problem. Does Tom have another middle name in your country? I know of

Tom Vorlost Riddle ist Lord Voldemort (German version)
Tom Solvor Riddle is Lord Voldemort (Frisian Version)
Tom Elvis Jedusor - je suis Voldemort (French)

by **Mint** » Wednesday 22 December 2004 2:43:28pm

ha - thats really interesting. I do wonder what they gonna do about that. I only read English version so... O_o

poor translators..... <_<'

by **Phinea Rogue** » Wednesday 22 December 2004 9:58:59pm

Tom Marvoloso Riddle = A som aj Lord Voldemort (And I'm Lord Voldemort too) -- or something like that. :-)

by **Mistress Siana** » Saturday 22 January 2005 4:25:46am

Hehe, I've just stumbled across a website dedicated to exactly that problem. I laughed my guts out!

Dutch: Marten Asmodom Vilijn-Mijn naam is Voldemort

Danish: Romeo G. Detlev Jr.= Jeg er Voldemort ( looool! Can you imagine Dumbledore, in a fight against Voldemort, saying "Oh Romeo!" instead of Tom?)

Norwegian: Tom Drodelo Venster-Voldemort den store (Voldemort the great)

Swedish: Tom Gus Mervolo Dolder-Ego sum Lord Voldemort (Ego sum =latin)

French: Tom Elvis Jedusor-Je suis Voldemort

Italian: Tom Orvoloson Riddle-Sono io Lord Voldemort

Spanish: Tom Sorvolo Ryddle= Soy Lord Voldemort

Finnish: Tom Lomen Valedro-ma olen Voldemort

Hungerian: Tom Rowle Denem -???

Czech: Tom Rojvol Raddle-Já lord Voldemort

Macedonian: Tom Redlov = Voldemort (no middle name, no I am, no Lord)

If you'd like to meet Stonne-Stina, or if you want to know what Hermiona Grangerova thinks of a Dooddoener, or why she's into S.H.I.T. , visit

http://www.eulenfeder.de/int/gbint.htm

by **Tanuki** » Saturday 22 January 2005 4:48:00am

... kowai. there really is nothing else to say... kowai

by **Phinea Rogue** » Monday 24 January 2005 2:31:10pm

Romeo?

Elvis?

*off to figure out the possibly Hungarian translation of "I'm Lord Voldemort"*

by **DragonFiend17** » Sunday 13 February 2005 2:01:49am

Hmm...that is really interesting...i mean i thought the idea was brilliant but i hadnt thought of it not working in different languages...anyway i love tom riddle :grin:

by **Un'Anima Persa** » Sunday 13 February 2005 2:04:04am

im in america... and i didnt think of it being a problem in other countries either... odd... but i like the idea....

by **Mistress Siana** » Sunday 13 February 2005 5:49:59pm

I've heard Harry Potter must be one of the hardest books ever to translate. I mean, even if you're a professional translator, words like boggart, centaur etc are usually not part of your everyday vocabulary. Then you have to bear in mind that some names have a deeper meaning or are supposed to resemble another word, like Gryffindor, Slytherin or Severus Snape. You cannot just translate that, but on the other hand, important information could get lost if you just let it slip under the table.
Here in Germany, the translation of a Harry Potter book needs 6 to 8 month, in some other countries it goes up to a year. Poor kiddies. I'm so glad I'm no longer 10 years old or something, so I don't have to wait that long.

by **Un'Anima Persa** » Sunday 13 February 2005 6:08:21pm

lol... july 16th!!!! w00t!!

but me mum reads it first, so another week for me...

by **Un'Anima Persa** » Sunday 13 February 2005 6:11:01pm

oh, err... i guess you're right... it would be quite hard to translate that...

maybe they have like the international Harry Potter ultimate translation dictionary or something...

by **Hagger 9003** » Monday 14 February 2005 9:44:08pm

imagine all those people translating harry potter into latin... must have been a nightmare, specially since it hasnt been used really for centuries. only in catholic church ceremonies. i dont think anyone still lives on this earth who had latin as their first language, and people still translate it into latin. some people have way too much time on their hands... i wish i did. :grin:

by **Phinea Rogue** » Tuesday 15 February 2005 11:05:32am

Our translators are pretty quick (OotP was translated in about 6 months), but on the other hand, when they're this quick, they tend to make mistakes. :-?

Very funny mistakes, sometimes. :lol:

by **Mistress Siana** » Tuesday 15 February 2005 3:45:03pm

Oh, yes, there really are some hilarious mistakes (I think I mentioned the Exploding Snape thing somewhere..). I'm curious...what mistakes are in your translation?

by **Phinea Rogue** » Wednesday 16 February 2005 1:47:29pm

Usually nothing too big (I remember that Exploding Snape game, it's hilarious! :lol:

), but for example there's this pub called Hog's Head which has a totally different name in two books or in the beginning of GoF, Voldemort kills "the Riddles and their nearly adult son Tom" which is quite confusing, I think. Or poor Pansy instead of being thick (stupid) like a troll, become fat like a troll.

Broomsticks And Owls

Marvolo international ("Oh, Romeo!")

Marvolo international ("Oh, Romeo!")

Who is online